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Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English, 99-04-29Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.BRIEF GREEK NEWS BULLETIN BY THE MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCYThessaloniki, April 29, 1999TITLES
NEWS IN DETAIL[01] NATO RAIDS CONTINUE, MONTENEGRO IN THE EYE OF THE STORMBelgrade, April 29 (MPA)A nightly occurrence for over a month now, NATO air forces pounded Yugoslavia last night, targeting Belgrade’s suburbs and Montenegro’s capital city Podgorica. According to the Yugoslav news agency Tanjung, yesterday’s raids marked the most severe attack against Montenegro since the start of “Operation Allied Force”. Allied forces also struck a fuel depot south of Belgrade, a Sava River bridge west of the Yugoslav capital and an oil refinery in Novi Sad. A.F.[02] UN SECRETARY GENERAL IN MOSCOW, TO HOLD TALKS TODAYMoscow, April 29 (MPA)The United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan is to have a series of meetings with Russian leaders in Moscow today, in an effort to reach a diplomatic solution to the Kosovo crisis. Reportedly, the Russian leaders are viewing Mr. Annan’s visit as an opportunity to promote a peacemaking initiative for Kosovo. During his stay in Moscow, Mr. Annan is to meet with Greece’s and Canada’s Foreign Ministers, George Papandreou and Lloyd Axworthy respectively. A.F.[03] BANK OF GREECE RELEASES ITS ANNUAL REPORT ON ECONOMYAthens, April 29 (MPA)The Bank of Greece is to release its annual report on the state’s economy today and, reportedly, its governor Lukas Papademos finds that the economy’s sizes have not been burdened by the armed conflict in Yugoslavia. Nevertheless, Mr. Papademos warns that if the crisis in the neighboring country is not soon over, Greece’s economy will be negatively affected, especially the country’s macroeconomics prospects. A.F.[04] GREEK FM MEETS WITH RUSSIAN COUNTERPART IN MOSCOWMoscow, April 29 (MPA)The foreign ministers of Greece and Russia, George Papandreou and Igor Ivanov respectively, have called on the United Nations to contribute more vigorously to the peaceful settlement of the Balkan crisis.Following their talks in Moscow yesterday, Mr. Papandreou called for an end to hostilities in Yugoslavia and a speedy resolution of the Kosovo issue. He stressed the important role carried out by Russia in this process. Mr. Papandreou further pointed out that the Balkan war has created serious economic and political problems for Greece, Yugoslavia's largest investor. According to the Russian news agency Itar-Tass, Mr. Ivanov noted that he and Mr. Papandreou had a detailed discussion of the situation in the Balkans, which is matter of "serious concern" further stressing that "the U.N. should play an active role in the political settlement." In addition to the Kosovo issue, the ministers also discussed "stability and security in the Balkans after the war" while Mr. Papandreou said Russia will play a decisive role in achieving this target. Messrs. Ivanov and Papandreou expressed satisfaction over the state of bilateral relations and called for the development of cooperation between the two countries in all areas. A.F. [05] DRASCOVIC REMOVED FROM DEPUTY PREMIER’S POST BY BULATOVICBelgrade, April 29 (MPA)Vuk Draskovic was removed from his post as Yugoslav deputy prime minister yesterday, reportedly for having voiced his opposition to the government's position on NATO demands over Kosovo, according to the Yugoslav news agency Tanjung. "The president of the federal government, Momir Bulatovic, has dismissed Vuk Draskovic from his functions as a member of the government by reason of his public statements against government positions, and for damaging the government's prestige," the information ministry said in a statement quoted by Tanjung.Mr. Drascovic, leader of the Serbia Renewal Movement (SPO) had called on Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to cooperate with the international community in order to put an end to NATO’s raids. He criticized "those who lead the country... the so- called patriots," telling them to "stop lying to the people and finally tell the truth." The truth, Mr. Drascovic said, is that "we are alone... NATO is not facing collapse, Russia will not militarily help Yugoslavia and international opinion is against us." A.F. [06] CHERNOMYRDIN TO MEET WITH MILOSEVIC IN BELGRADE TOMORROWMoscow, April 30 (MPA)Russia's special Balkan envoy Viktor Chernomyrdin will visit Belgrade tomorrow where he will meet with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. According to the Russian news agency Itar-Tass, Mr. Chernomyrdin is expected to brief Mr. Milosevic on the position of NATO leaders with whom he will have met before his trip to Belgrade.Mr. Chernomyrdin reportedly hopes that the Yugoslav leader will also announce some steps to stop the bombings in Yugoslavia and settle the conflict. Today, he embarked on a two-day diplomatic shuttle of European and Balkan capitals saying he had "concrete proposals" on resolving the five-week Yugoslav crisis. A.F. [07] “THUMBS UP” FOR GREEK ECONOMY BY DEUTSCHE BANK- BERENBERGThessaloniki, April 29 (MPA)Greece continues its course to the Economic and Monetary Union unscathed by the Kosovo crisis, according to the latest report issued by Deutsche Bank, which finds that the country’s accession pace remains in line with the Euro zone’s member-states. However, the report also points out that the war in Yugoslavia will bear short-term repercussions on the state’s economy, mostly reflected by a decline in this year’s rate of development. As such, the German financial analysts have re-considered their assessment on Greece’s growth rate, containing the figure to 3.1%, a slight drop from the previous forecasts of 3.3%.Regardless of the conflict in Yugoslavia, Deutsche Bank also warns that inflation remains the country’s biggest hurdle to overcome, but adding that any rise in oil prices would not have an adverse impact on Greece’s euro entry. Another German bank also grants, albeit indirectly, kudos to the state’s economy, noting its “resiliency” to the crisis. In a recently-published report, Berenberg, once again promotes Greek stocks and bonds, noting that Greece holds the largest share among the EU’s mid-sized states in the bank’s international portfolio. A.F. [08] RAIL ROUTES TO BE LIMITED ON MAYDAY DUE TO PLANNED STRIKESThessaloniki, April 29 (MPA)The Greek Railway Organization (OSE) will limit its routes to a bare minimum on Saturday, due to the rail workers’ planned strike on Saturday, May 1.The Athens-Thessaloniki-Athens route will be run by train 500/50, while other regions will also be served by a single route as well. Those wishing to travel on Saturday, should contact the OSE offices in Athens at (01) 529-7777 for itinerary information. A.F. [09] U.S., EU, TAKE NEW INITIATIVE ON CYPRUS WITH RUSSIA’S INPUTLondon, April 29 (MPA)The British envoy for the Cyprus issue sir David Hannay has confirmed that there is a new initiative taken by the United States and the European Union regarding the resolution of the Cypriot issue.Speaking to the BBC radio program, Sir David stressed that the imminent initiative will be revealed as soon as a cabinet is formed in Turkey, while he added that the US and the EU are working closely with Russia, given the common ground held in the views. Furthermore, the British envoy did not out the possibility of a new round of direct talks between the President of the Republic of Cyprus Glafcos Clerides and the Turkish-Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash. A.F. [10] SPANISH ACADEMIC ISSUES BOOK ON HISTORY OF GREEK LANGUAGEMadrid, April 29 (MPA)Greek is the world’s first language, according to the Spanish academic Francisco Rodrigues Adrados, who recently published his new book “The History of the Greek Language”.Mr. Adrados, who has dedicated his 50-year academic career to the study of Hellenism, stressed the significance of Greek and emphasized the influence it has borne on all other languages. The book’s presentation was performed by the former chairman of the Athens Academy Agapetos Tsobanakis, Spanish Academic Gregorio Salvador Kaja and professor of Greek literature Juan Jose Morajelos. Greece’s ambassador to Madrid Petros Aggelakis, saluting the event, expressed his admiration for the work of Mr. Adrados, whom he characterized as “the patriarch of Hellenists in Spain.” A.F. Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |